Mark Friedman

Playwright, composer, and lyricist Mark Friedman fell in love with musicals as a kid growing up in the Midwest and even built his own theatre in the basement of his home, complete with lighting grid and sound, performing for people in the neighborhood. Paying for college by playing in bands and performing onstage, Mark graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Education and a Master of Arts. After college, he produced free Shakespeare in the Park in Cincinnati; created a family-friendly theatre called Peanut Butter Theatre, helped launch the acclaimed Artreach Touring Theatre, and toured the country himself with The Fountain Square Fools – all in his twenties! He has taught drama and playwriting at high school and collegiate levels, and was a featured faculty member at the Tennessee Arts Academy in Nashville. Enjoying a successful career as an educator, speaker, writer, actor, director, and studio producer, Mark has songs and recordings in several genres published worldwide and is licensed with TRW and other agencies.

Mark and collaborator, Janet Vogt, have written many successful musicals together. Their TRW licensed adult bio-musical Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical has enjoyed rave reviews across the US and in London. Their TRW/TYA titles include: How I Became a Pirate; Alice in Wonderland; Sleepy Hollow: A Musical Tale; Anne of Green Gables, Jingle Arrgh the Way; Snow White and the Prince, and Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Crown Jewel – all playing worldwide. Grateful for his theatre success, Mark still considers his best productions to be his children, Emily and Christopher, both NYU graduates living and working in NYC in film and television. Mark is represented by Paradigm Artist Agency, New York.